


A Delight

by macandcaseus



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, F/M, Fluff, lila knows ALL, lukas is a sweetie pie (ba dum tss)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/macandcaseus/pseuds/macandcaseus
Summary: As secretary of the 11th precinct, Lila had access to a lot more information than people thought she would.Including birth dates.
Relationships: Lila Desroses & Lukas "Grumpy Cat" Randall, Lila Desroses/Lukas "Grumpy Cat" Randall
Comments: 16
Kudos: 55





	A Delight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sauvage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauvage/gifts).



> Hello Sauv, you wanted more Lula, and I am here to help deliver more Lula. Happy birthday!!

As secretary of the 11th precinct, Lila had access to a lot more information than people thought she would.

Including birth dates.

Not that she purposely  _ went _ looking for them. But if she was thumbing through her coworker’s files and  _ happened _ to see a date and  _ happened _ to bring in some kind of baked good—and if that baked good  _ just so happened _ to be their favorite (another piece of information Lila was good at slipping out of people)—who would complain? Who didn’t want a little something to cheer up their birthday?

Well. Lila could think of one person who might not want birthday cheer.

But she’s set a precedent. And it’s not that  _ she _ didn’t want to bring Lukas a key lime pie. She just didn’t know how  _ he  _ would react to the attention.

Of course, she could make one just for him, but that was really too much pie for one man to eat on his own, especially when the man in question didn’t even like sweets much. It took a long time of subtle prompting for him to finally admit his favorite to her, and she didn’t want to spook him by offering too much all at once.

But if she didn’t make something for him, would he be hurt? He wouldn’t bring it up if he was, that was for sure, so she would never know. 

Did he even celebrate his birthday?

In the week leading up to Lukas’s birthday eve, Lila changed her mind and her plans about a million times, first thinking of just setting the pie in the break room. If people noticed it, then they noticed it. But  _ no _ , people would ask who it was for, and she’d have to come clean—after all, she was the only one known for bringing treats into the office, and only on special occasions. It wouldn’t be too hard for a group of police officers to figure out the only one among them who wouldn’t want a fuss about their birthday was Grumpy Cat. She thought about making miniature pies—but again, she’d have to make a full batch, this recipe particularly difficult to cut in half, or else she’d be left with a surplus of batter and definitely not enough drive to eat the majority of the mini pies herself. And again, she wondered if she just shouldn’t make him anything at all—but no, not only would she risk making him feel bad, but she would feel awful for not doing something for him. 

Finally, the day before Lukas’s birthday, Lila settled on a plan. 

That night, she put on the radio and swayed to the music as she crushed up graham crackers and mixed the crumbs with butter and sugar, pressing the mix against her pie pan with the flat base of a glass. As that cooked in the oven, she whisked together the filling, breathing in the lime that wafted from the bowl.

The oven timer went off, signaling the end of the crust, and as Lila waited for it to cool, she leaned against her counter, tapping her arm, thinking. About Lukas. About how he might react, if this gesture would be too much in his eyes, pushing that tenuous friendship they were building to a breaking point. How, if that was the case, she would … she would really miss his strange form of friendship.

She had to admit, it did feel quite nice to be the one person in the office that Lukas didn’t level daily death threats at. The one person who got to see his face soften, ever-so-slightly, when he looked at her. She’d grown fond of the way he would linger near her desk, sipping his coffee, occasionally entertaining her gentle conversation prompts—never for long, of course, but at least he didn’t completely ignore her.

In a place where a discouraging amount of people tended to brush her off as “the secretary,” at least to Lukas she was “Lila Desroses.”

Shaking her head, letting those thoughts fall out of her in an exhale, she held her hand over the crust, nodding before pouring the filling in. Once the pan was back in the oven, she licked her spatula clean and got to work on the dishes, the delicate scent of lime filling her apartment as it baked.

The pie was only in the oven for ten minutes, and after it was out, she let it cool on the counter before sliding it into the fridge. 

“There,” she whispered to herself, closing the door and placing her hands on her hips. 

“And now I wait.”

#

Lila was always one of the first people in the office, usually only beat by Lieutenant Hawkes or Captain Hermann. But she made sure to wake up an hour earlier than usual, hurrying through her morning routine in an effort to get out the door as quickly as possible, not even stopping to eat breakfast—she grabbed a pack of breakfast bars to eat at her desk. 

With the pie in a cardboard box and her name scrawled neatly on top, Lila made her way to the precinct, arm wrapped protectively around it the whole way. As long as someone’s name was on their food, no one would bother it in the break room refrigerator, no matter how suspiciously cake-shaped the container might appear.

Once the box was stored safely in the back of the fridge, Lila sat at her desk and got started on her morning tasks—writing up letters, going over Hermann’s schedule to make sure everything lined up, and eyeing the phone, pen and paper at the ready for any calls.

Lieutenant Hawkes was, of course, the first one to arrive, and they exchanged polite good mornings. A few other officers trickled in, including Officer Sinclair, giving Lila a small wave as she headed to her desk. Lila was checking the clock when the door opened to reveal Lukas, coffee cup already in hand, circles under his eyes as dark as ever.

“Officer Randall,” Lila said, straightening and giving him a smile. 

He stopped, eyes widening at her.

“Good morning!” she chirped before looking back to her typewriter.

“Oh. Good morning,” he said, voice low. She watched him slouch to his desk out of the corner of her eye, biting her lip to keep her smile from widening.

The day passed as usual. Lila was chewing a breakfast bar when Sergeant Ladell swirled into the office, always full of enough energy to power the whole of Ardhalis, and she and the Lieutenant almost immediately began bickering about … paperwork? Patrol? The Lune situation? They slid from one topic to another so quickly Lila wondered if they were really arguing, or if this was just how they showed affection for one another at this point. 

When the time came for everyone to go home, Lila cleared her throat as Lukas passed her desk, and he paused. “Sorry, Lukas, I’ve been swamped with other work today, and I just realized I have some forms I need you to fill out.”

“Forms for what?” he asked, brow furrowed.

“Just an HR thing. They want to hear about your experience with your coworkers and bosses and such.”

A grin spread across Lukas’s face, his eyebrow rising. “They do, do they?”

Lila nodded. “They said, ‘Spare no detail.’”

His grin widened, and he held out his hand for the forms. “Excellent.”

She handed him three papers that were clipped together and a pen, and he returned to his desk, bent over the papers, scribbling furiously.

She did not have the heart to tell him those papers were certainly not from HR.  _ He’ll just assume they’re not taking his complaints into account, and then complain about them more, _ she thought.

Just as she had planned, by the time Lukas was finished, everyone else had left the office. He finally straightened and took in his surroundings, blinking at the empty office before walking back to Lila, sliding the papers onto her desk.

“Sorry. You didn’t have to stay,” he said, fixing her with his dark stare.

“Actually,” Lila said, standing and smiling. “I did. Come on.”

He raised an eyebrow, but crossed his arms and followed her to the break room, watching as she opened the fridge and pulled out the box, eyes widening as she took the pen she left behind her ear and scrawled “To Lukas, From” above “Lila.” 

“Happy birthday, Lukas. Here’s your key lime pie.”

“I—” he said, staring at the box in her outstretched arms. “I didn’t—”

Her heart clenched.

“I wasn’t expecting this, Lila.” He looked up to her, and his face softened, almost— _ almost _ —brightening as he gave her a gentle smile. “Thank you.”

He took it from her hands as she said, “I know an entire pie is probably too much for you to eat on your own, but I figured you wouldn’t want a big fuss made, so I just … made you this, and if you don’t finish it all, don’t feel bad. I just wanted to make sure you got your birthday treat, too.”

“You’re right,” he said, opening the box and peering inside, “this is way too much for me to eat.” He looked back up to her. “Might as well share some with you.”

Lila blinked before letting out a small, surprised giggle. “What?”

He shrugged. “You made it. You should have some.”

A soft warmth glowed across Lila’s cheeks, and she ducked her head. “Thank you, Lukas. That means a lot to me.”

They set themselves up at the break room table, Lila grabbing plates and silverware while Lukas brewed more coffee for himself and put on a kettle of hot water for Lila—it was too late for her to be interested in any caffeine. 

She cut slices for them, and as they ate, she started rambling about whatever came to mind—recent books she had read, activities that were happening this time of year, especially as Halloween approached. At the mention of Halloween, Lukas nodded, and without any prompting from her, he opened up about his own favorite Halloween activities.  _ Of course Halloween is his favorite holiday, _ Lila thought as a smile ghosted her lips.

Together, they managed to finish a half of the pie, and the fresh, tart taste lingered on Lila’s tongue as Lukas went to a cabinet, digging a small box out, and cut the remaining side of the pie in half, lifting that into the box and handing it to Lila.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I made it for you.”

Lukas nodded. “Please.”

She smiled, understanding all that one word was meant to convey. “Thank you, Lukas.” 

When their fingers brushed as she took the box from him, she turned her head to hide her blush.

They walked back to the office to gather their belongings, and Lukas hesitated before leaving. “Will … you be okay walking home?”

She laughed, softly. “Yes, Lukas. Thank you, though. Besides, I need to drop these papers off, and I don’t want to hold you up any more than I already have.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t mind.”

They watched each other for another moment, until Lukas nodded and left. Lila swallowed her heart back from her throat, though that didn’t do anything to stop the way it was thumping in her chest. 

She picked up the papers, which she had worked very hard on to make them appear like actual documents from HR.  _ I shouldn’t look _ , she thought,  _ but I can’t throw them out here. I guess … I’ll rip them up when I get home. _

Back inside her apartment, still shivering slightly from the autumn evening air, Lila dropped her bag on the chair by her door, taking the papers out and turning toward the kitchen, where she would dispose of them.

But the quickness of her spin startled the papers out of her hand, and they fluttered to the floor. As she reached to pick them up, she took in a few of the words.

_ Obnoxious… a distraction… take seriously… Desroses…  _

Her breath caught in her throat, eyes snapping back to her name, pulse thudding for a different reason now.

She skimmed over the page, where he seemed to be mostly complaining about Sergeant Ladell and her … enthusiasm about certain things. A few lines were devoted to complaining about Captain Hermann, as well, which did make her chuckle, but her face stilled when she reached the bottom of the page.

_ Truly, the only person I can say with 100% certainty is completely competent and devoted to her job is our secretary, Miss Lila Desroses. Miss Desroses is the perfect face to greet any visitors to our office, as her perpetual cheeriness is something that even I admit to taking a liking to. It is an honor and, dare I say, a delight to work with someone who is genuinely a very kind person. And I do not use these descriptions lightly. _

Lila pressed her hand to her mouth, heart thrumming as she reread the section, once, twice, three more times, just to make sure she wasn’t reading it wrong. She looked up, glancing at her trash can and back to the paper. 

Before she could change her mind, she tore this section off of the page, crumpling the rest and dropping it into the trash. She crossed to her desk, laying the torn paper face down and stepping back from it, a grin spreading across her face.

Lila Desroses always inevitably found herself knowing more than she should about her coworkers. And she had just found out something about Lukas Randall that no one else ever would have dared to guess.

Much like the key lime pie he was so fond of, Lukas was really much more sweet than sour—once one got past that first tang, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> hi jackie :pleading face: :point right: :point left: THANK YOU FOR THE KEY LIME PIE IDEA. AND ALSO SCREAMING ABOUT HOW CUTE THEY ARE. I LOV YOUUUUUU


End file.
